Who: Elsa and Rapunzel What: Elsa dives too deep and gets frozen When: Recently Where: Elsa's Status: complete Rating: PG
Elsa’s memories were wonderful. Well, mostly. There were a few embarrassing ones and a few she was rather unhappy about and a few that were very clearly not her own.
Despite that, she enjoyed being able to look through an unfiltered lens to the past. She could spend hours here, days, learning more secrets from her parents, visiting Anna’s memories from her childhood to see the things she’d missed.
Somehow, that felt a bit too much like an invasion of privacy and she dismissed the idea out of hand. Besides, there wasn’t really enough time for her to really explore, and she could come back later. Maybe even bring Anna if the Nokk allowed it.
And then she saw her grandfather, but what he was saying made no sense. Elsa got a sinking feeling in her stomach, the more she listened, and when he spoke of magic with such fear and disgust it felt a little like he’d stabbed her in the chest.
He was wrong, and she told him that even if he couldn’t hear her. It at least made her feel better.
Deeper into Ahtohallan she followed him, remembering her mother’s song. Sparing only a single glance back to the room of memories, she dove too deep.
Far away, in another life, the temperature in the bedroom began to plummet. Slowly at first, and then more rapidly until Elsa’s skin had turned blue, her skin freezing over.
Her eyes snapped open and she gasped out a name as her magic spun around the room in a whirlwind. Anna, of course, couldn’t hear her in this world, so the image of her Grandfather’s act of murder and betrayal formed at the foot of the bed.
Rapunzel was not having dreams in that current moment. Her dreams consisted of her at a shopping mall but the stores were run by animals wearing clothes. It was very mundane and she was thrilled about that because she definitely needed a break from the other dreams she had.However, what she hadn’t expected this night was to suddenly wake up next to Elsa half frozen.
She didn’t notice anything different until the temperature started to drop and she began to shiver. She reached an arm out to grab the blanket and gasped at the feel of ice against her skin, which made her sit up quickly. “Elsa?!” Rapunzel’s eyes went wide when she took in the sight of the woman frozen beside her, “Shit… what do I do?” She didn’t think her hair would do anything, but she also didn’t think Elsa had any items to warm someone up in her house.
She put the blanket over her to try and create some warmth and then ran to the bathroom to grab a blow dryer and came back over to the bed, plugging it in the outlet near the bed. She really hoped this would help because she was completely out of ideas. She could probably heal Elsa once she was no longer trapped, but she honestly wasn’t sure.
Ice burned. Logically, Elsa knew this. But for the first time she really felt cold. Down to her bones chilled, even her blood feeling like a river freezing in winter. But the most frightening thing of it all was how aware she was. She could hear Rapunzel, but not answer her, she could see. But she couldn't feel.
At least, not at first, not until she began to thaw and her fingertips and ears and nose burned, but her blood was pumping again and she was a little less blue, and then a little more her normal color. Shivering uncontrollably, she tried to turn onto her back but it hurt too much.
"Rap...?" She took it back, the most frightening thing would be to go through this alone, like herself in her dream, lost to Ahtohallan.
Rapunzel finally got the stupid thing plugged in and she saw that Elsa was finally starting to unthaw and she still made sure to turn the blow dryer on. Hot air would do better than nothing right now. She leaned forward when she heard Elsa try to speak and she gave her a small smile, “Hey, I’m here. I’m trying to help you get warmed up.” She pointed the blow dryer at Elsa, waving it around so the heat spread to more parts of her body.
She also grabbed the blanket with her empty hand and pulled it up around her, “Are you okay?” You scared me.” The idea of Elsa being stuck like that had gone through her mind and she didn’t like the idea of it at all.
The effort was appreciated, or it would be when Elsa could think properly again instead of trying to just scoot closer to the warm thing and the hot air.
She didn't feel okay, but she also didn't feel like she wouldn't be okay, so she nodded her head and tried to speak through chattering teeth, "I d-dove t-too d-deep. Into Ahto-Ahtohallan."
Anna had never really talked about how it had felt being frozen to death, and now Elsa wished she had.
Rapunzel really wished that she could heal Elsa right now, but the most she could do was use the blow dryer to help try and warm Elsa up and keep the blanket tight around her. The mention of diving too deep into Ahtohallan definitely made her worried. She didn’t realize that that location in Elsa’s dream could cause Elsa to end up like this. It wasn’t at all what she expected.
“Oh no…” Rapunzel frowned as she reached a hand up to feel if Elsa was finally starting to warm up, “Okay, just don’t talk too much yet. Let’s get you thawed out first. I don’t want you to end up passing out or anything from exerting too much energy.”
Elsa just nodded, the shivering beginning to lessen with every passing moment. Rapunzel’s presence helped, a warm, soothing balm that made her heart grow steadier and her breathing calm. Even if they hadn’t been dating, simply not being alone helped. But Rapunzel really was like the sun, the warm day after a cold and bitter night.
Sitting up, she wrapped one arm around her legs and looked up at Rapunzel. “I found out my grandfather was a horrible racist man who hates magic. And then … I think I died...”
Now that Elsa was looking better she turned off the blow dryer and wrapped the blanket tight around her and made sure it was closed around here to help contain some heat. She blanched at the blunt words about having died. Her eyes went wide and she reached out to cup Elsa’s cheek with her hand.
“I’m sorry about your grandfather. I understand people turning out to not be who you thought they were. As for dying… I’m not sure what to do, but I’m very glad you’re not dead right now. Do you feel alright? Do you want to go to a doctor? Or want me to try my powers on you or anything?” She wanted to make sure Elsa felt mentally and physically okay before she stopped hovering.
Her grandfather's actions went against everything Arendelle had stood for. Murdering innocent people, depriving them of their lands, it was all so American. The hatred of magic on top of it all struck her personally and then... "Did I ever tell you my mother was from those people? I'm half-Northdulra" Which raised interesting questions about her own heritage. Had her mother been Sami? They were the closest analogue to an indigineous people in the Scandenavian region.
At any rate it was a lot easier than thinking about that whole dying thing.
"I'm okay, now." Elsa pulled her hand out of the blanket and looked down at it. The frost crystals were mostly gone, and they didn't appear to be frost-bitten. "I'm just..." Setting aside the trauma, "wondering if my sister actually got the message I sent at the end."
She looked at the ice sculpture at the foot of the bed and then waved it away. It crumbled.
If Elsa were to explain all that to Rapunzel she would immediately realize that he sounds basically like Mother Gothel. “No, you didn’t, I don’t know what that is, but it sounds pretty,” Rapunzel answered honestly with a small smile. Sounded like an indigineous race, but Rapunzel had absolutely no clue about Scandinavia so she wasn’t going to pretend she did.
Rapunzel leaned in when Elsa declared herself okay and placed a gentle kiss on the woman’s forehead, “I’m sure she did. You’ll probably find out eventually. The world wouldn’t be that mean.” To basically die and then not have your sister get a message? Nothing was that cruel, right? She reached both hands over to help fix Elsa’s hair.
"Yes, they really are. They live in harmony with the magic of the forest." Elsa leaned against Rapunzel, closing her eyes. What a horrible thing, she thought, to find herself and then die in the process. It didn't seem fair.
"Everything I've ever done has been for my sister and Arendelle. It's up to her now to save our people, but I know she can do it."
“That sounds like the perfect way for you to live,” Rapunzel commented with a small smile. Elsa seemed to embrace her magic now in the dreams and a place that would allow her to live in harmony with that sounded like perfection. She wondered if Elsa would end up choosing to live there in the end.
“I think you’re right on that. Everyone has their moment that causes them to become more mature and step up when it’s needed. Sounds like this is Anna’s moment.”
"Oh." Until Rapunzel had said it it had only been a tiny little thought in the back of her head. But if she was truely dead, then Elsa wouldn't ever get to explore that option.
Though as soon as she thought of it she realized that she'd never been fully comfortable in her role. "Anna will make an amazing Queen, I just wish it wasn't this way."
“Oh Elsa, I’m pretty sure you’re probably not going to stay dead in your dreams. We’re royalty that have magic powers and sing a lot of songs. I don’t think you’ll end up dying, that’s too much for Anna to handle,” parental deaths were terrible, but always seemed to be some kind of plot device almost. Rapunzel wasn’t thrilled about it, but she also didn’t like the idea of Elsa ending up dead in her dreams. She had saved Eugene and she would have tried to save Elsa if she could.
"You're probably right." Elsa hoped she was, and she clung to that hope. And feeling better and hopeful and a little teasing, she added, "After all, how will I live in the Enchanted Forest with my mother's people and date that cute woman with amber eyes and an adorable baby reindeer?."
“Ooo, a cute woman? Looks like I have some competition in your dream world,” Rapunzel teased to try and get Elsa’s mind off what happened. She scooted a little closer to Elsa and smiled. Granted, she was with Eugene in her dreams, but she was also quite curious about this apparent new development.
Elsa smiled, feeling her spirits lift a little. She slipped her arm around Rapunzel. "Yes, her name is Honeymaren. She has brown skin and amber eyes and really soft looking hair. She's the one that recognized my mother's shawl and told me about the Fifth Spirit. Who I'm beginning to think is me but I doubt she knows that. We sang an old lullaby together. Her voice is beautiful."
Which felt significant but Elsa had had other things to worry about. Looking at it from the outside, being able to analyze the thoughts and feelings she'd had to set aside, she could see a maybe there. Another reason to live then. For Anna and her family, and both her peoples. But also to see if that maybe could be a thing.
Rapunzel adjusted the blanket so they were both wrapped in it as she leaned into Elsa’s body. She still felt a little colder than usual, but Rapunzel was glad she wasn’t frozen anymore. She listened carefully to Elsa describe Honeymaren and she couldn’t help but grin at how smitten she sounded about this woman.
“She sounds lovely. Color me a little jealous,” Rapunzel chuckled at her own comment and then leaned up to kiss Elsa’s forehead, “I hope that you’re able to be happy in your dreams with her. It would be great if you finally got to explore that part of your life.”
Rapunzel, meanwhile, was warm enough that she kind of burned, and Elsa liked that. This honestly felt like a moment that could have been a first kiss. As it was, Rapunzel had solidly moved into crush territory after tonight.
Not that Elsa hadn't been steadily feeling that since their last dinner date.
"Me too," Elsa admitted. She took Rapunzel's hand and squeezed it, "But here, I have you."
Was that too fast?
Rapunzel’s cheeks turned a light color of pink at the compliment and she leaned in to give Elsa a heated kiss. They definitely had each other in this world despite having people that were romantic interests in their dreams. It was crazy how life could be so different and suddenly draw the two of them together unexpectedly.
Probably not too fast considering she'd seen her naked, but Elsa didn't want to assume anything. That would just hurt if she was wrong.
Rapunzel was cute when she blushed, and Elsa grinned, leaning over a little bit to kiss her cheek, "I'm very glad I wasn't alone for this and even more glad it was m-you."
She'd almost said something silly and romantic like 'my sunbeam' but managed to catch herself.
That made Rapunzel even more pleased and she leaned in and kissed Elsa properly on her lips. It was so sweet and she was also quite glad that Elsa wasn’t alone for something like this. Rapunzel would have been worried if Elsa called her and told her about what happened after the fact.
Elsa sighed into the kiss, thinking that Rapunzel was very much her sunbeam right now. Just maybe she wasn’t ready to actually tell her that.